scholarly journals A whole-cell and single-channel study of the voltage-dependent outward potassium current in avian hepatocytes.

1988 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Marchetti ◽  
R T Premont ◽  
A M Brown

Voltage-dependent membrane currents were studied in dissociated hepatocytes from chick, using the patch-clamp technique. All cells had voltage-dependent outward K+ currents; in 10% of the cells, a fast, transient, tetrodotoxin-sensitive Na+ current was identified. None of the cells had voltage-dependent inward Ca2+ currents. The K+ current activated at a membrane potential of about -10 mV, had a sigmoidal time course, and did not inactivate in 500 ms. The maximum outward conductance was 6.6 +/- 2.4 nS in 18 cells. The reversal potential, estimated from tail current measurements, shifted by 50 mV per 10-fold increase in the external K+ concentration. The current traces were fitted by n2 kinetics with voltage-dependent time constants. Omitting Ca2+ from the external bath or buffering the internal Ca2+ with EGTA did not alter the outward current, which shows that Ca2+-activated K+ currents were not present. 1-5 mM 4-aminopyridine, 0.5-2 mM BaCl2, and 0.1-1 mM CdCl2 reversibly inhibited the current. The block caused by Ba was voltage dependent. Single-channel currents were recorded in cell-attached and outside-out patches. The mean unitary conductance was 7 pS, and the channels displayed bursting kinetics. Thus, avian hepatocytes have a single type of K+ channel belonging to the delayed rectifier class of K+ channels.

1986 ◽  
Vol 251 (1) ◽  
pp. C85-C89 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. W. Richards ◽  
D. C. Dawson

The patch-clamp technique for recording single-channel currents across cell membranes was applied to single turtle colon epithelial cells isolated with hyaluronidase. With electrodes fabricated from Corning #7052 glass, high-resistance seals were consistently formed to these cells. In on-cell patches with low K (2.5 mM) in the pipette and high K (114.5 mM) in the bath, outward K currents were recorded that had a slope conductance of 17 pS and a reversal potential greater than -70 mV. Currents through this K channel were blocked by lidocaine, quinidine, and barium. These agents also block a cell swelling-induced K conductance identified by macroscopic current measurements in the basolateral membranes of the intact colonic epithelium, suggesting that the 17 pS K channel identified by single-channel recording in isolated turtle colon cells may be responsible for this macroscopically defined K conductance.


1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 1413-1422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. J. Lin ◽  
G. J. Greif ◽  
J. E. Freedman

1. In cell-attached patch-clamp recordings from freshly dissociated rat caudate-putamen neurons, an 85-pS inwardly rectifying K+ channel, which was previously found to be modulated by D2-like dopamine receptors, was blocked by externally applied BaCl2 or CsCl. 2. At concentrations between 100 and 500 microM, Ba2+ blockade was voltage dependent, with a greater block at hyperpolarized voltages, in a manner consistent with blockade of the channel pore. Single-channel currents were flickery, with intervening periods of more complete blockade, and block appeared to be time dependent, with an estimated electrical distance of 0.24 and an apparent dissociation constant of 205 microM at 0 mV. 3. At concentrations between 1 and 3 mM, Cs+ blockade was similarly voltage dependent, but without periods of longer blockade, with an electrical distance of 0.81 and an apparent dissociation constant of 625 microM at 0 mV. Cs+ could also permeate this channel at voltages near the K+ reversal potential. The current-voltage relationship displayed an anomalous negative slope conductance, in a manner inconsistent with a single-ion pore. 4. Smaller-conductance, dopamine-insensitive channels were blocked more potently by both Ba2+ and Cs+ than was the 85-pS channel, reflecting differences between inwardly rectifying K+ channels mediating resting conductance and those mediating dopamine receptor responses in striatal neurons.


1989 ◽  
Vol 145 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-184
Author(s):  
D. Yamamoto ◽  
N. Suzuki

Permeability and gating properties of single, non-inactivating, K+ channel currents in cultured Drosophila neurons were studied using the gigaohm-seal patch-clamp technique. The non-inactivating K+ currents were activated by depolarizing the membrane to −30 mV or to more positive potentials. The slope conductance of the channel was estimated to be 17.6 +/− 3.70 pS when the cytoplasmic side of the inside-out membrane patch was perfused with solutions containing 145 mmoll-1 K+. The single-channel conductance was temperature-sensitive, with a Q10 of 1.44 between 10 and 20 degrees C. Single-channel currents could be recorded when the cytoplasmic K+ was replaced with NH4+, Rb+ or Na+, but not with Cs+. The conductance ratio of the channel for these cations was: K+ (1) greater than NH4+(0.53) greater than Rb+ (0.47) greater than Na+ (0.44). Tetraethylammonium (TEA+) ions applied at a concentration of 10 mmoll-1 to the cytoplasmic side of the membrane increased the frequency of ‘blank’ traces which contained no channel openings during repetitive depolarization. In addition, single-channel amplitude was reduced by about 20%. The open-time distribution was fitted by a single exponential function, whereas the closed-time distribution required a three-exponential fit. Permeability and gating properties of single, non-inactivating K+ channel currents in neurons of eag, a mutant which has defects in the delayed rectifier K+ channel, were indistinguishable from those recorded from wild-type neurons.


1990 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 809-834 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Sugimoto ◽  
J H Teeter

Voltage-dependent membrane currents of cells dissociated from tongues of larval tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum) were studied using whole-cell and single-channel patch-clamp techniques. Nongustatory epithelial cells displayed only passive membrane properties. Cells dissociated from taste buds, presumed to be gustatory receptor cells, generated both inward and outward currents in response to depolarizing voltage steps from a holding potential of -60 or -80 mV. Almost all taste cells displayed a transient inward current that activated at -30 mV, reached a peak between 0 and +10 mV and rapidly inactivated. This inward current was blocked by tetrodotoxin (TTX) or by substitution of choline for Na+ in the bath solution, indicating that it was a Na+ current. Approximately 60% of the taste cells also displayed a sustained inward current which activated slowly at about -30 mV and reached a peak at 0 to +10 mV. The amplitude of the slow inward current was larger when Ca2+ was replaced by Ba2+ and it was blocked by bath applied CO2+, indicating it was a Ca2+ current. Delayed outward K+ currents were observed in all taste cells although in about 10% of the cells, they were small and activated only at voltages more depolarized than +10 mV. Normally, K+ currents activated at -40 mV and usually showed some inactivation during a 25-ms voltage step. The inactivating component of outward current was not observed at holding potentials more depolarized -40 mV. The outward currents were blocked by tetraethylammonium chloride (TEA) and BaCl2 in the bath or by substitution of Cs+ for K+ in the pipette solution. Both transient and noninactivating components of outward current were partially suppressed by CO2+, suggesting the presence of a Ca2(+)-activated K+ current component. Single-channel currents were recorded in cell-attached and outside-out patches of taste cell membranes. Two types of K+ channels were partially characterized, one having a mean unitary conductance of 21 pS, and the other, a conductance of 148 pS. These experiments demonstrate that tiger salamander taste cells have a variety of voltage- and ion-dependent currents including Na+ currents, Ca2+ currents and three types of K+ currents. One or more of these conductances may be modulated either directly by taste stimuli or indirectly by stimulus-regulated second messenger systems to give rise to stimulus-activated receptor potentials. Others may play a role in modulation of neurotransmitter release at synapses with taste nerve fibers.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


1988 ◽  
Vol 254 (3) ◽  
pp. C397-C403 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. K. Bubien ◽  
H. Van Der Heyde ◽  
W. T. Woods

Single-channel currents in canine atrial cells were recorded by the patch-clamp technique in a bathing solution containing 150 mM [K+] and pipette solutions containing 5 mM [K+]. One kind of current was observed in 56% of 178 cell-free patches and in 3% of 60 patches in the cell-attached configuration. Single-channel amplitude varied in direct proportion to the bath [K+]. Openings of these single channels were prevented when bath [Ca2+] exceeded 1 microM. Below this concentration single-channel percent open time was inversely proportional to log [Ca2+]. Inward current was observed at hyperpolarized membrane potentials in some patches. There was no apparent steady-state voltage sensitivity. These properties suggest that the K+ channel described in this study (gK+LF), a low transition frequency K+ conductor, may be distinct from single K+ channels previously studied in cardiac myocyte sarcolemmae. The single-channel response to "intracellular" free [Ca2+] and the single-channel kinetic characteristics described in this study are similar to the macroscopic "long-lasting transient outward current" (IIO) described by Escande et al. [Am. J. Physiol. 252 (Heart Circ. Physiol. 21): H142-H148, 1987] in human atrial myocytes (tau open = 29.6 ms, tau inactivation = 35.7 ms, respectively). This suggests that gK+LF channels may carry IIO.


1990 ◽  
Vol 259 (5) ◽  
pp. H1448-H1454 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. W. Hadley ◽  
J. R. Hume

Currents through time-dependent K+ channels (also referred to as IK or the delayed rectifier) were studied with the whole cell patch-clamp technique in isolated guinea pig ventricular myocytes. IK measurements were restricted to the examination of deactivation tail currents. Substitution of various monovalent cations for external K+ produced shifts of the reversal potential of IK. These shifts were used to calculate permeability ratios relative to K+. The permeability sequence for the IK channels was K+ = Rb+ greater than NH4+ = Cs+ greater than Na+. Time-dependent outward currents were also examined when the myocytes were dialyzed with Cs+ instead of K+. A sizeable time-dependent outward current, quite similar to that seen with K+ dialysis, was demonstrated. This current was primarily carried by intracellular Cs+, as the reversal potential of the current shifted 46 mV per 10-fold change of external Cs+ concentration. The significance of Cs+ permeation through IK channels is discussed with respect to the common use of Cs+ in isolating other currents.


1994 ◽  
Vol 266 (1) ◽  
pp. C42-C51 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Fermini ◽  
S. Nattel

Using the whole cell configuration of the patch-clamp technique, we studied the effect of isotonic replacement of bath sodium chloride (NaCl) by choline chloride (ChCl) in dog atrial myocytes. Our results show that ChCl triggered 1) activation of a time-independent background current, characterized by a shift of the holding current in the outward direction at potentials positive to the K+ equilibrium potential (EK), and 2) activation of a time- and voltage-dependent outward current, following depolarizing voltage steps positive to EK. Because the choline-induced current obtained by depolarizing steps exhibited properties similar to the delayed rectifier K+ current (IK), we named it IKCh. The amplitude of IKCh was determined by extracellular ChCl concentration, and this current was generally undetectable in the absence of ChCl. IKCh was not activated by acetylcholine (0.001-1.0 mM) or carbachol (10 microM) and could not be recorded in the absence of ChCl or when external NaCl was replaced by sucrose or tetramethylammonium chloride. IKCh was inhibited by atropine (0.01-1.0 microM) but not by the M1 antagonist pirenzepine (up to 10 microM). This current was carried mainly by K+ and was inhibited by CsCl (120 mM, in the pipette) or barium (1 mM, in the bath). We conclude that in dog atrial myocytes, ChCl activates a background conductance comparable to ACh-dependent K+ current, together with a time-dependent K+ current showing properties similar to IK.


1986 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 481-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Rogawski

Single-channel recordings using the gigohm seal patch-clamp technique were carried out on the somatic membranes of dissociated embryonic rat hippocampal neurons grown in cell culture. The recording medium contained tetrodotoxin to block the voltage-dependent Na+ conductance and Cd2+ to block Ca2+ and Ca2+-activated conductances. In the cell-attached configuration, depolarizing voltage steps activated outward directed single-channel currents with conductance 15-20 pS. The channel openings exhibited a moderate degree of flickering. The mean burst lifetimes ranged from 5 to 13 ms with a tendency to increase slightly at more depolarized potentials (T = 21-25 degrees C). Reversal potential measurements using excised membrane patches indicated that the channels behaved as expected of a K+-selective membrane pore. Channel opening occurred in Ca2+-free EGTA-containing solutions but was never observed in the presence of tetraethylammonium (TEA; 20 mM). The frequency of channel opening increased as the membrane was depolarized by up to 50 mV from resting potential; the fraction of time spent in the open state during the first 300 ms following a step depolarization increased e-fold for a 8-25 mV change in potential. First-latency histograms and simulations of the macroscopic current based on channel data obtained during repeated depolarizing voltage steps indicated that the probability of the channel being in the open state increases gradually with time after a step depolarization. During repeated depolarizing steps the channels appeared to randomly enter and exit a long-lived inactive state. It is concluded that these channels may underly the slowly activating, very slowly inactivating, TEA-sensitive voltage-dependent K+ current (IK) in cultured hippocampal neurons.


1992 ◽  
Vol 263 (4) ◽  
pp. E760-E765 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. V. Kanazirska ◽  
P. M. Vassilev ◽  
S. J. Quinn ◽  
D. L. Tillotson ◽  
G. H. Williams

The effects of angiotensin II (ANG II) on single K+ channels were studied in rat and bovine adrenal zona glomerulosa (ZG) cells, using the patch-clamp technique. ANG II (0.1-10 nM) induced substantial inhibition of inward rectifier and delayed rectifier K+ channel activities in rat and bovine ZG cells. Analysis of single-channel activities showed that the ANG II-induced channel-blocking effect involved reductions in the probability of the open state (Po) and the mean open time. The changes in these channel parameters occurred at all test voltages, indicating that the effect of ANG II was voltage independent. ANG II could not interact directly with the extracellular sides of the membranes in these experiments using cell-attached patches. Therefore, the effect of ANG II on K+ channels must occur through an indirect cytosolic transduction pathway. The ANG II-induced block of K+ channels will result in membrane depolarization, which may activate voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels, thereby increasing cytosolic free Ca2+ and stimulating aldosterone secretion. These channel-modulating actions of ANG II may be an important step in the initial sequence of events underlying its transduction mechanism.


1995 ◽  
Vol 268 (2) ◽  
pp. C389-C401 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Chepilko ◽  
H. Zhou ◽  
H. Sackin ◽  
L. G. Palmer

The renal K+ channel (ROMK2) was expressed in Xenopus oocytes, and the patch-clamp technique was used to assess its conducting and gating properties. In cell-attached patches with 110 mM K+ in the bath and pipette, the reversal potential was near zero and the inward conductance (36 pS) was larger than the outward conductance (17 pS). In excised inside-out patches the channels showed rectification in the presence of 5 mM Mg2+ on the cytoplasmic side but not in Mg(2+)-free solution. Inward currents were also observed when K+ was replaced in the pipette by Rb+, NH4+, or thallium (Tl+). The reversal potentials under these conditions yielded a selectivity sequence of Tl+ > K+ > Rb+ > NH4+. On the other hand, the slope conductances for inward current gave a selectivity sequence of K+ = NH4+ > Tl+ > Rb+. The differences in the two sequences can be explained by the presence of cation binding sites within the channel, which interact with Rb+ and Tl+ more strongly and with NH4+ less strongly than with K+. Two other ions, Ba2+ and Cs+, blocked the channel from the outside. The effect of Ba2+ (1 mM) was to reduce the open probability of the channels, whereas Cs+ (10 mM) reduced the apparent single-channel current. The effects of both blockers are enhanced by membrane hyperpolarization. The kinetics of the channel were also studied in cell-attached patches. With K+ in the pipette the distribution of open times could be described by a single exponential (tau 0 = 25 ms), whereas two exponentials (tau 1 = 1 ms, tau 2 = 30 ms) were required to describe the closed-time distribution. Hyperpolarization of the oocyte membrane decreased the open probability and tau 0, and increased tau 1, tau 2, and the number of long closures. The presence of Tl+ in the pipette significantly altered the kinetics, reducing tau 0 and eliminating the long-lived closures. These results suggest that the gating of the channel may depend on the nature of the ion in the pore.


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